This is no rulebook about salad forks and calling cards; it is a witty, sophisticated guide to the new principles of modern social behavior by a psychologist turned alternative-etiquette-and-ethics guru. Robin Abrahams, author of the popular "Miss Conduct" column in the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, stands ready to tackle such perplexing social dilemmas of our time as: Is it polite to say "Bless you" to a sneezing atheist? Should a foreign person's name be pronounced in his native accent? And what's a nice vegetarian to do if Gypsies give her bread smeared with lard? Covering sticky situations involving food, religion, children, pets, health, sex, money, and other ticklish topics, Abrahams delivers witty, compassionate, and thought-provoking advice.